Pro-Palestine protest planned for Sydney will be banned by Chris Minns after vile scenes on the steps of the Opera House where activists chanted ‘gas the Jews’

NSW Premier Chris Minns has called off an upcoming Free Palestine rally in Sydney after hundreds of protesters caused chaos outside the Opera House.

Minns said organisers had already shown they were not peaceful based on the wild scenes on Monday, during which protesters chanted ‘gas the Jews’ and ‘f*** the Jews’.

In a press conference on Wednesday, the premier apologised to the state’s Jewish community for failing to provide a safe place to mourn following devastating attacks launched by terrorists over the weekend.

‘The intentions were to light up the Opera House as a space for the Jewish community to commemorate what happened in Israel, the number of family and friends caught up in the conflict,’ he said.

‘We didn’t do it. I take responsibility for that. I want to ensure it won’t happen again.’

Mr Minns said paperwork for a second protest had been submitted to police, but that he expected the application would be denied.

‘The protest organisers have already proven they’re not peaceful. Shouting racial epithets is not the definition of a peaceful protest. The idea they’re going to commandeer Sydney streets is not going to happen, and I am sure NSW Police will make that clear this morning.’

Tense protests on Monday night, organised by the Palestine Action Group Sydney, saw a burning of the Israeli flag, anti-Semitic chanting by protesters, and flares set off in the Opera House forecourt.

More to come